POL 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Longship, Primogeniture, The Strongest
18 Mar 2016
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With primogeniture, the eldest son became the new king. Feudalism has developed because of people like william the conqueror: direct descendent of the vikings (barbarians of the north) To get protection from the vikings, they built a fort (mot and bailey: this was then replaced by stone castles the price of protection went up. The people who were being protected would owe their protector more. The protector evolved into being called lord. The strongest of the protectors would pronounce himself the king developed the feudal system: at the top was the king the great barons (dukes, earls, etc. ) When william the conqueror conquered england, england was already in a feudal system: william"s loyal people became great barons. The king asserted himself as owning everything, including the people. The feudal oath was the only thing keeping it together: stronger than the word of god. If the oath was broken death the most painful way, heresy (go to hell)
